Hello, this is UniqueGood's Experience Trend Letter. How often do you visit art museums, dear subscribers? According to the Statistics Korea's 'Social Survey' data, museum visitation rates show a steady upward trend each year. In 2023, it appears the rates have recovered from the decline caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
What's particularly interesting is that the proportion of young visitors to art museums is increasing. According to a consumer trend report published by trend newsletter 'Careet' and Shinhan Card Big Data Research Institute, the percentage of visitors in their teens and twenties to art museums was 19.2%, which is more than double the 8.0% for traditional museums.
What is drawing this Zalpha generation (Gen Z + Gen Alpha) to art museums? We aim to explore the secrets behind museums' transformation into hot places through recent exhibition trends.
Art Exhibition Trends Breaking Down Barriers Between Artworks and Audiences
Immersive media art exhibitions are gaining popularity recently. These exhibitions are characterized by reinterpreting works of familiar masters like Vincent van Gogh, Gustav Klimt, and Antoni Gaudí. But why are young generations flocking to media art exhibitions that aren't even original artwork displays?
First, they're composed in a sensory way. Media art exhibitions visually overwhelm audiences with massive images and videos. The colorful and rich visual elements work in an 'Instagrammable' way, producing great photos. Moreover, by placing music and scents that match the visuals to stimulate the senses, audiences experience feeling as if they've entered into the artwork itself.
While one might question exhibitions without authentic pieces, I think they can serve as playgrounds where visitors can enjoy reinterpreted works up close without damaging the originals.
The trend of disappearing boundaries between artworks and audiences isn't limited to media art. In installation art and other cases where space itself becomes the stage for the artwork, audiences can experience becoming part of the work.
The 'Philippe Parreno: Voices' exhibition is the largest-scale exhibition ever held at Leeum Museum of Art. Music flows from pianos without performers, and installed artworks change moment by moment through sensors installed in the museum, making visitors feel as if the gallery is alive and moving like a living organism.
Additionally, you might see dancers who appeared to be visitors suddenly emerge and interact with the exhibits through movement. According to a UniqueGood member who actually visited this somewhat complex exhibition, they commented that 'it wasn't just an exhibition to look at, but had many new attempts like interacting with audiences or displaying the time it takes for ice to melt.'
Actor Park Shin-yang, now renowned as one of Korea's top painters, also challenged new formats through an experiential exhibition called 'The Fourth Wall.' Visitors can cross 'the fourth wall' and observe painter Park Shin-yang working from the second floor, where the being beyond is said to be Park Shin-yang the person, not the performing actor. Since this exhibition is completed through the audience's gaze, I wonder if the audience also functions as part of the exhibition.
Evolving Immersive Experiences
I recently came across an interesting article. At a pub in Daehangno, servers transform into musical actors and put on wonderful performances, and at a small theater, people can watch plays up close while eating and drinking. This also connects with the exhibition trends we've explored today.
While traditional artworks maintained distance from audiences, now they're breaking down those barriers and making audiences feel as if they've entered into the artwork itself. These unique experiences are making museums into hot places and attracting the Zalpha generation.
James Gilmore and Joseph Pine stated in their book 'The Experience Economy' that the experience industry means 'adding value to the way services are delivered as a concept above services.' The current immersive exhibitions can be seen as an evolved way of delivering experiences from traditional exhibitions.
UniqueGood's Experience Trend Letter is delivering newly emerged immersive experiences like 'immersive theater,' where audience seats disappear, to our subscribers. Please check UniqueGood's Experience Trend Letter to see what the experience industry will look like as it emerges in other areas. Thank you.